M. Leona Godin

Dr. M. Leona Godin is the author of There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness (Pantheon, 2021), and the founder of Aromatica Poetica, an arts and culture laboratory for the advancement of smell and taste. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, O Magazine, Literary Hub, and others. Her storytelling appearances include: RISK!; Story Collider; The MOTH Mainstage; TALE; and Turn Me Into Gold (Back Pocket Media). Her first storytelling solo show, SIGHTED PEOPLE SUCK!, Debuted at Under St. Marks Theater in November 2023. As a New York Public Library 2023-24 Diamonstein-Spielvogel Fellow, she’s working on a series of essays about image description and photography, which she hopes to turn into scented stories one day.

(Photo of Leona with her portrait by Roy Nachum in New York City Hall by Alabaster Rhumb)